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Classroom activities

Shrove Tuesday (Key Stage 1)

Show video extracts, websites or books which show how Shrove Tuesday is celebrated in different parts of the world. Discuss similarities and differences and suggest reasons for them.

Ask the class to think about the festival through the eyes of a young child.

Have a class celebration to participate in a festival, focusing on cultural diversity. You could make pancakes with the class. The Pancake recipe worksheet may help with this activity.

Morality (Key Stage 2)

Discuss how to apply a moral principle to a 'real-life' situation, by asking groups of children to role play different scenarios (eg using another person's belongings without permission - you could give them a choice of 4 or 5) once without reference to Jesus' teaching, and then taking the teachings into consideration. Ask the class what difference it makes if they apply the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus' life (Key Stage 3)

Ask students to think and talk about times in their own lives when they have been tested, either physically, mentally or even emotionally. Ask them to consider what effects these tests had on them, both positive and negative. Explain the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness.

Students could then create a cartoon or picture book version of the story to explain it to younger students, or could produce a written explanation of how Jesus might have been affected by his time in the desert.